If you are in the mood for a Summer thrill ride disguised as a buddy movie, you might want to check out the 8-episode series, Ride or Die. Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer have great chemistry and will carry you along for an unpredictable joy ride. Hannah Waddingham plays Judith Burton, a forensic accountant–NOT! Judith is a deadly assassin working for a Secret Agency headed by Bill Nighy.

Octavia Spencer plays Debbie Claybourne who has a 20 year marriage with a British MP named David (Jaime Parker). Debbie is grooming her husband to be the next British Prime Minister when he tells her he wants a divorce. Meanwhile, Judith’s Secret Agency thinks she’s too old (50) to do her job any more. Both women face life-changing situations that will test their friendship.

I’ve watched the first three episodes and I’m hooked! Action, adventure, and humor with gunplay, explosions, chase scenes, and hand-to-hand combat mixed in. What more can you ask for? GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards a B+

Every character in Elizabeth Strout’s new novel has a Secret. Hence, the title: The Things We Never Say. One of the main characters, popular History teacher Artie Dam, doesn’t want to live anymore. His wife, Evie, is holding a Secret 20 years old. Artie and Evie’s son, Rob, who was the driver in an accident that killed his passenger, grapples with two major Secrets.

Pulitzer Prize winner, Elizabeth Strout is at the top of her game in The Things We Never Say. She even manages to slam Trump!

My favorite scene in The Things We Never Say is when Artie asks his favorite class–soon to graduate–what they want to do in the Future. Clearly, the students are full of fear about the world–Trump just won the 2024 Election–and the uncertainties they face. But Artie, a master teacher, manages to allay their trepidation about their lives after High School by engaging them in a game of What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? One student engages Artie after class one-on-one. Danny is a jock, but he loves Shakespeare. Artie counsels Danny on his career choices. Danny’s father is a plumber and wants Danny to become a plumber, too. But Artie maps out a different career path–one that will change Danny’s Life.

Elizabeth Strout packs a lot of surprises in The Things We Never Say. The fact that this is an outstanding book…is no Secret. GRADE: A

Alexander Pope (1726)

As with his translation of the Iliad, Pope changed the metre from the dactylic hexameter used by the Homeric Greek text into heroic couplets, rhyming pairs of lines in iambic pentameter.

Robert Fitzgerald (1961)

For decades, Fitzgerald’s translation was widely regarded as the literary standard: elegant, lyrical, and deeply attentive to the poem’s beauty. His Odyssey feels reflective and musical rather than fast-paced.

Richmond Lattimore (1965)

Long favored in academic circles, Lattimore’s translation attempts to remain structurally close to the Greek, including its repetitions and formulaic qualities. His six-beat line echoes Homeric rhythm more directly than most modern literary translations.

Robert Fagles (1996)

Still one of the most commonly assigned translations, Fagles leans toward contemporary free verse and emphasizes narrative energy, drama, and accessibility. For many readers, this is the most cinematic Odyssey.

These are the four translations I’ve read of Homer’s Odyssey. All four have their strengths and weaknesses, but if I had to pick my favorite, I would go with Robert Fagles.

That being said, let’s turn to Christopher Nolan’s “translation” of the Odyssey now in cinemas across the land. I attended the 2:00 p.m. showing at our local AMC Theaters. The theater I was in was about half full. The three hour movie lagged in parts–which gave me the opportunity to run to the Men’s Room–and yet held my attention with the vivid scenes on the screen. When I think of Odysseus, the man who is credited with winning the Trojan War with his sneaky Trojan Horse trick, I think “cunning.” When Christopher Nolan thinks of Odysseus, he thinks Jason Bourne (aka, Matt Damon).

In my readings of the Odyssey, I don’t remember Odysseus being a great fighter. I remember Odysseus being clever and brilliant. In Nolan’s Odyssey there’s a lot of fighting. And I was getting sea-sick from all the scenes on boats. At the end of Nolan’s Odyssey, there was a smattering of applause. But not from me. GRADE: B

Summer reading to me is Big Fat Books (500+ pages) and series that have been on my bookshelf for far too long. I’m going to start with a series called The Icarus Saga by prolific SF writer, Timothy Zahn (60 published novels and still going strong). It’s an odd series because Zahn wrote The Icarus Hunt in 1999 and then 20 years later, wrote six more novels in the series.

The Icarus Hunt is basically a chase novel. Starship pilot Jordon McKell is hired to deliver an unconventional craft to Earth. A crew of random hires join McKell in his travels, but at least one of them is a murderer. As the novel progresses, McKell learns what the secret of Icarus is and why so many groups and governments in the Galaxy want the ship he’s piloting.

I’m one of those guys that likes to read blurbs. Here’s one from The Icarus Plot (2022): “Take the espionage of John le Carre, the deduction of Sherlock Holmes, the twisty nature of The Sting, and you have The Icarus Plot.” (Upstream Reviews)

And the writer who wrote that blurb is right! Former bounty hunter Gregory Roarke and his partner Selene are hired by two men who claim they are searching for valuable planets. That turns out to be a ruse. What they are really seeking is a member of the Icarus crew from The Icarus Hunt. The Bad Guys are working for the Patth, aliens who monopolize The Talariac Drive which is fastest in the galaxy. But the Patth fear Icarus and its advanced technology threatens their hold on the interstellar trade. The Patth and their deadly minions are hunting for Icarus crew members so they can take control of Icarus and keep their power.

Roarke and Selene (who has super Olfactory powers) track down Tera, an Icarus crew member, but then double-cross the Patth. Little by little, Roarke and Selene learn the secrets of Icarus while being chased from planet to planet by the Patth who will stop at nothing to seize Icarus.

If you’re in the mood for fast-paced Summer Reading, I recommend The Icarus Saga. I’ll be reading the rest of the books in the series over the next few weeks. GRADE: B+ (for both)

THE ICARUS SAGA:

Icarus (Timothy Zahn)

• 1 The Icarus Plot (2022)
• 2 The Icarus Twin (2023)
• 3 The Icarus Job (2024)
• 4 The Icarus Changeling (2024)
• 5 The Icarus Needle (2024)
• 6 The Icarus Coda (2025)
• The Icarus Hunt (1999)

I was in the mood for some Eighties music and these two compilation CDs were handy. The 80s Party Playlist (2000) includes hits like “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and The Waves–which has made over $100 million by being featured in 300 TV commercials over the years. I’m a fan of “867-5309/Jenny” by Tommy Tutone. And I’m sure most of remember “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles–the top selling song of 1986!

Hot Ladies of the 80s (1990) includes Taylor Dayne’s dance music hit, “Don’t Rush Me” and the infectious “Head to Toe” by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam.

Both CDs include songs that are seldom played on local Oldies radio. They sure jogged my memories! GRADES: The 80s Party Playlist: B; Hot Ladies of the 80s: B-

TRACKLIST:

We got the beat / The Go-Go’s (2:30)

Walking on sunshine / Katrina & the Waves (3:59)

Come on Eileen / Kevin Rowland & Dexy’s Midnight Runners (4:14)

Take on me / A-ha (3:49)

Karma chameleon / Culture Club (4:12)

Centerfold / J. Geils Band (3:38)

My Sharona / The Knack (4:54)

867-5309 /Jenny / Tommy Tutone (3:47)

Whip it / Devo (2:40)

Walk like an Egyptian / Bangles (3:22)

Everybody have fun tonight / Wang Chung (4:48)

Mony mony (live) / Billy Idol (4:08)

Rebel yell / Billy Idol (4:46)

Miss me blind / Culture Club (4:29)

Love stinks / J. Geils Band (3:37)

Good girls don’t / The Knack (3:09)

Do you want crying / Katrina & the Waves (3:33)

TRACK LIST:

COVER ARTWORK BY SAM KENNEDY

Am I tipping my hand when I say the best thing about Going Interstellar (2012) is the cover artwork? Going Interstellar presents a mixed bag of fiction and non-faction. The editor, Lee Johnson, writes that these stories could NOT use faster-than-light drives, no wormholes, no portals.

The result is that these stories all concern generational spaceships whose crews spend hundreds of. years in suspended animation pods. And, of course, stuff goes Wrong.

I was not that interested in the non-fiction articles included in Going Interstellar involving various propulsion systems.

My favorite two stories in this anthology were “LUCY” by Jack McDevitt and “THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL” by Sarah A. Hoyt. Both stories involve mysteries. In “LUCY” a spaceship run by Artificial Intelligence is sent out to Deep Space–and disappears. Another spaceship run by another Artificial Intelligence–LUCY–is sent to find out what happened.

In “THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL” Sarah A. Hoyt presents a generational spaceship that has been traveling for hundreds of years. But three young travelers question how the spaceship is run by those in charge and investigate some troubling anomalies.

Sadly, I found Going Interstellar very average. GRADE: C

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

FOREWORD By Lee Johnson — 1

INTRODUCTION — Lee Johnson & Jack McDevitt — 3

CHOICES By
Les Johnson — 7

A COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Ben Bova — 27

ANTIMATTER STARSHIPS
Dr. Gregory Matloff — 79

LUCY
Jack McDevitt — 103

LESSER BEINGS
Charles E. Gannon — 141

FUSION STARSHIPS
Dr. Gregory Matloff — 197

PROJECT ICARUS
Dr. Richard Obousy — 219

DESIGN FLAW
Louise Marley — 233

TWENTY LIGHTS TO THE LAND OF SNOW
Michael Bishop — 263

SOLAR AND BEAMED ENERGY SAILS
Les Johnson — 351

THE BIG SHIP AND THE WISE OLD OWL
Sarah A. Hoyt — 367

SIREN SONG
Mike Resnick — 407

X-Men ’97, Season 1 (you can read my review here) ended with a startling cliff-hanger. X-Men ’97, Season 2 focuses on the origins and motivations of En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse). Events transform him into one of the most compelling and multi-dimensional antagonists in Marvel’s television Universe! X-Men ’97, Season 2 ranks 100% on ROTTEN TOMATOES!

With a tight 30 minute format with 9 episodes, X-Men ’97, Season 2 delivers plenty of action and complicated plots. If you’re looking for some Summer TV escapism, this is it! GRADE: Incomplete but trending towards an A